When Maren was just shy of two, I found her like this: I still remember her deer-in-headlights look as I busted her. She knew she was being naughty, but couldn’t help herself. The offending instrument in this case was not a marker, or Sharpie, or paint. My Maren got into my mascara, and, as an observant little booger, tried to put it on in the eye region,...

Last week I found myself sitting across from my favorite five-year-old at Starbucks. I had some computering I needed to do, and Brad was home while Greta napped. When Brad is not home, I would normally set Maren up with an activity or a movie while I did my “work,” but on this day I suggested that we leave the house and go to Starbucks together and...

“Muffle, muffle, I don’t care,” “I’ll pull down your underwear.” My jaw dropped open as I heard these words being hollered by a lot of kids on the bus as Maren got off her school bus this afternoon. I was shocked. This bus carries only kindergartners. Really? Bus drama. Oy. As we walked the short walk home hand in hand, she...

Tonight I watched as Maren sat on the kitchen island counter. She swung her legs a little, and she chatted with Brad while he chopped and prepped veggies for dinner. I noticed that her size six pajamas are creeping up her ankles and wrists. Eventually she pulled out her read-at-home school books and read to him as he worked. She asked him for help when she...

‘Twas a great ending to my day. I had one girl on each knee, we rocked in my favorite chair, I read to them. We read more than the standard two stories because we were happy. They were clean and I inhaled their sweet smells. Maren exclaimed, “I remember this book from when I was a little girl.” I smiled with the knowledge that she is still a...

Maren’s kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Heart, began calling the children (the five-year-olds) writers the very first week of school. Some, like Maren, could write their own name, but others were still practicing. Yet, Mrs. Heart called them writers: she called out their identity, and the twenty-four little people in the class are rising to the challenge and...